The present invention relates to a holder for a road flare and more particularly to a flare holder that is attachable to a traffic cone to elevate the flare to a more visible position.
Flares are commonly used as temporary signals to mark the location of road hazards such as construction, accidents, other emergency operations and the like or just to provide a temporary warning or to call notice to some given situation. Flares usually are positioned at some distance ahead of the actual site of interest in order to give advanced warning that the site is being approached. Flares of course can be laid on the ground beside a roadway or hand held but neither is desirable for various reasons. Wind or terrain may cause the movement of a flare laid on the ground and holding the flare is not an effective use of personnel that may be at the site addressing a given situation such as an accident. Also, the burning flare produces considerable heat which may damage the roadway and limits the time it can be hand held as the lit end bums toward the butt end.
Various devices are available to hold a flare. These include flares with sharpened spikes at the butt end that can be driven or pushed into the ground or asphalt to hold the lit end upright. The spike often is overlooked after the flare is spent and itself creates a hazard in or adjacent to the roadway.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,981,510; 3,149,566; 3,146,613 and 3,285,550 disclose flare holders that lay on the roadway for holding the flare in a generally upright position. U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,324 discloses a flare holder that can lay on the roadway and includes a truncated surface for receiving the spike end of a plurality of flares to hold the flares generally upright. U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,258 discloses a flare holder that is of a flammable material so it selfdestructs when the flare burns down so the holder, after use, does not create a road hazard.
While these holders are more or less effective, they all serve to hold the flare generally upright near the road surface. There are situations that would benefit by having the flare held at a higher level above the road surface. For example the typical 18 inch flare burning near the road surface may not be visible beyond even a small rise in the road. Also, as the flare burns down, it becomes effectively shorter and shorter thus further decreasing the distance from which the flare is visible.
Roadside traffic cones provide an alternate system for providing warning markers. Traffic cones having reflective surfaces are known but these are of reduced value in that reflected light does not necessarily draw the same attention as a flare. Devices are used in conjunction with traffic cones and use the cone as a support so as to take advantage of the additional height provided by the cone. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,334 discloses a traffic cone having brackets to mount warning flags and signs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,251 discloses a traffic control system including an adapter for a traffic cone that allows the cone to support a chemical light stick in a upright, vertical position and U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,924 discloses attaching a flashing battery operated light to the top of a traffic cone. While these devices are useful, flags, chemical lights and battery-operated lights do not generate the same attention as a flare.
Accordingly, there is a need for a low cost device for holding a flare above a roadway surface that protects the road surface from the heat generated by the burning of the flare and combustion residue. A device for holding the flare adds to the safety of traffic control personnel and frees the personnel for more important duty attendant to a road hazard. In a preferred embodiment wherein the flare holder is attachable to a traffic cone, there also is a need to protect the cone from the heat and combustion residue of the burning flare.
The accordance with the present invention the flare holder includes a support portion releasably attachable to the top of the traffic cone or to any other generally upright structure. The support preferably is generally conical so it can slip over the top of the traffic cone to attach the support to the cone. As an alternative, attachment to the top of the traffic cone is provided by a support portion of the flare holder that extends downward through the open top of the cone. In yet another alternative, the support portion may include fastener openings such as key slots to permit the attachment of the flare holder to a post or other upright structure by screws or nails. Hinged to the support is a plate that can swing between stowed and operating positions. In the stowed position the plate hangs from the hinge and rests generally along the sloping side of the traffic cone.
In its operating position the plate is swung from the stowed position up and over the top of the traffic cone coming to rest at an angle extending outwardly from the vertical axis of the cone some 180xc2x0 and 270xc2x0 from its stowed position. Near its hinged end, the plate includes a holder for receiving the butt end of a conventional cylindrical flare so as to orient the longitudinal axis of the flare at an upwardly directed acute angle with respect to the plate.
When the flare is lit and is burning, the lit end is disposed above the plate so that the portion of the plate below the lit end functions as an ash receptacle. Catching the combustion residue from the burning flare prevents damage to the traffic cone, which usually are made of plastic.
Accordingly, the present invention in one aspect thereof may be characterized by a flare holder comprising:
(a) a support having a lower portion attachable to an upright structure and an upper portion, the support defining a generally vertical axis;
(b) a plate having a first end hinged to said support upper portion for movement of said plate about the hinged end between a stowed position depending from the hinged end and an operative position located between 180xc2x0 and 270xc2x0 from the stowed position; and
(c) means on the plate adjacent the hinged end for supporting the butt end portion of a cylindrical flare when the plate is in its operative position, the means being disposed to support the flare butt end such that the longitudinal axis of the flare is upwardly inclined with the combustible end of the flare being disposed above the plane of the plate.